the soggy bottom boys: (l to r) dan tyminski, stuart duncan, barry bales, ron block, and mike compton

Back in Business

 * at least for one night  *
March 22, 2014

i am a man of constant sorrow
i've seen trouble all my day.
i bid farewell to old kentucky
the place where I was born and raised.

and with the reverberation of those lyrics amid the smoky mountains of tennessee, history was made.
it has not been since 2000 that five musicians declared their sorrow.  dan tyminski, stuart duncan, barry bales, ron block and mike compton took the stage in gatlinburg's holler in march for the first-ever live performance of the soggy bottom boys. as soon as the crowd heard that first note, they knew it was their grammy award winning signature, man of constant sorrow. featured in the 2000 movie oh brother, where art thou?, the song immediately conjured up george clooney's face but it was dan tyminski's voice that gave life to clooney's fictional band. for over ninety minutes, the band delighted the crowd with bluegrass favorites. the coming-together  was simply a request which met with no conflicting schedules. all five - who hold more than 47 grammys between them - have successful solo careers.

with the audience only having breathing room, onlookers packed ole smoky's holler to be part of this historical reunion. many families came because of their roots in the bluegrass tradition and even boasted a history of family moonshining, while some of the younger generation were simply excited to see the concert because they loved the movie. for whatever reason, the crowd sang along, rocked along, tapped along and never moved throughout the entire performance.
the first song's eruptive reception- sorrow - was only surpassed by the grand finale, the introduction of virginia bluegrass singer dr. ralph stanley. grand ole opry legend stanley performed o death and joined the band in an encore performance of man of constant sorrow. as alison krauss weaved through the crowd, she told a source that nothing would have stopped her from seeing her hero and inspiration, dr. ralph stanley.
although there are no plans for another performance, it is not out of the question according to tyminski. what o brother, where art thou? did for the reputation of bluegrass, the soggy bottom boys reunion is igniting once more.

here's johnny . . .

johnny baker
group sales coordinator
host for the event - ole smoky distillery, gatlinburg, tennessee

"we're still humbled at the thought," states johnny baker. "we were able to bring the original soggy bottom boys, dr. ralph stanley and a visit from alison kraus to gatlinburg via the ole smoky moonshine holler. a lot of credit goes to our entertainment director matt flake and moonstruck management's josh trivett for making our dream come true."

"our family made illegal moonshine here in these mountains for over 100 years and to be able to bring back that part of our past heritage in a legal moonshine distillery and share it will millions of folks visiting the area has gone way beyond expectations," states baker. "to be able to pay it forward and give back in such a unique way such as these free concerts has been very rewarding to say the least. moonshine and music run deep in our bloodline and to be able to bring them both back to this magnitude, in this day and age, is very humbling and a testament to the many talents passed down through our family."

next up at ole smoky is emi sunshine and the rain on may 26th at 6:30 pm. only nine years old from madisonville, tennessee, she's yodeling and picking her way into the hearts of the nation. catch yourself swaying along with her bold country voice.